1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a vehicle passenger detection apparatus that is installed in an automobile or other vehicle and used to determine whether or not to activate an air bag device provided in the vehicle.
2. Related Art
Air bag systems that can protect a passenger seated in a seat have been provided in automobiles and other vehicles for some time. Such an air bag system has a vehicle passenger detection apparatus that determines if a passenger is seated in a seat or not and if a seated passenger is an adult or a child. The vehicle passenger detection apparatus has a load sensor installed on a set periphery and a seat condition determining part that executes a seating determination based on a detection signal from a load sensor (e.g., see Japanese Patent Number 4339368). However, when the vehicle is moving or in another state in which a vehicle vibration occurs, a detection signal from the load sensor varies severely and there is a possibility a seating determination will be incorrect. Therefore, a vehicle passenger detection apparatus has been conceived that defers a seating determination at a previous determination result when the vehicle is moving or in another state in which vehicle vibrations are comparatively large and executes a seating determination when the vehicle is stopped or in another state in which vehicle vibrations are comparatively small.